New women's rugby league competition mooted

A NEW nine-a-side tournament could be the next women's rugby league competition on the Northern Rivers.

Country Rugby League Nines kicks off this weekend on the Central Coast and will run for six weeks.

Women were added to Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League this year and played under rules similar to Oztag with no contact.

With the increasing popularity of rugby league among women in all forms of the game, the CRL Nines offers current, returning or new players an alternative version of the game.

Teams play short, fast paced games on a full sized field with multiple games.

CRL Female participation officer Kylie Hilder believes the strong response to the competition is a great indication of the rising popularity of rugby league among women.

"We've been overwhelmed by the demand from Groups across Regional NSW to host CRL Women's Nines competitions,” Hilder said.

"To expand from just a couple of competitions last season to now having eight running with over 1500 registered players is a great indication of the popularity of rugby league among female participants.

"In recent times we've seen the addition of Ladies League Tag in the Country Championships, the introduction of the CRL Women's Nines and also the first Country women's team selected to take on City - it's a great time for women in the game with the amount of opportunities beginning to present themselves.”

The Hunter and Hastings League competitions will kick-off this weekend, with more than 500 players taking the field in Berkeley Vale and Wauchope.

All 11 NRRRL clubs are expected to field women's league tag teams next season.